New detour announced for closure of I-70 next weekend in Kansas City
Plans for the closure of Interstate 70 in both directions near Interstate 435 in eastern Kansas City next weekend have changed to include a new detour, the Missouri Department of Transportation announced Thursday.
The changes affect westbound I-70 traffic during the planned closure of I-70 in both directions from late Friday to early Monday, said Lairyn McGregor, a spokeswoman for the transportation department.
The new plans call for the the westbound lanes of I-70 to close at the Missouri 291/Interstate 470/Interstate 70 interchange and send drivers on a detour that follows I-470 to northbound I-435.
The change was made because the transportation department feared the previous detour would create a backup of traffic on northbound I-435, McGregor said.
The heavily traveled highway will completely close in both directions at I-435 for the weekend beginning Feb. 21 so crews can remove bridges in the area as part of the makeover of the I-70 and I-435 interchange. It will reopen early Feb. 24.
Here’s what to expect
Crews will begin reducing lanes on westbound I-70 between the Missouri Missouri 291/Interstate 470/Interstate 70 interchange and eastbound I-70 at I-435 about 8 p.m. Feb. 21.
All the on ramps along westbound I-70 will begin closing about an hour later. Ramps to westbound I-70 from Missouri 291/I-470, Lee’s Summit Road, Noland Road, U.S. 40 highway and Blue Ridge Cutoff will be closed. The westbound I-70 ramp to Manchester Trafficway will also close.
The ramps from southbound Missouri 291/I-470 and Manchester Trafficway to eastbound I-70 will close at that time too.
Crews will close I-70 in both directions at 10 p.m. Feb. 21. The highway is expected to reopen by 5 a.m. Feb. 24.
Also while the highway is closed, the ramp from northbound I-435 to eastbound I-70 will close at 5 a.m. Feb. 22 for pavement repairs. The ramp will reopen about 5 p.m.
The work is part of the ongoing two-year, $47 million project to reconfigure the interchange into a partial turbine interchange. The design allows the transportation to remove left-hand exits and make improvements to the loop ramps.
Construction began in March 2019 and is scheduled to be completed by December.
